Joint Statement…

Joint Statement…

Joint Statement from the Presidents of the Regional Conferences, the Vice Presidents for Regional Ministries for the Pacific and the North Pacific Unions and the Executive Directors of the Regional Conference Retirement Program and the Office for Regional Conference Ministry:

We the Presidents of the Regional Conferences, the Vice Presidents for Regional Ministries for the Pacific and the North Pacific Unions, the Executive Directors for the Regional Conference Retirement Plan and the Office for Regional Conference Ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church wish to register our serious concerns for and strenuous objections to the practice of separating of families that is currently part of the immigration policy of our government.

While we affirm the rule of law and believe that no one-great or small-is above the law, we would want to submit that we are not talking about criminals here-we are talking about children. At least- in some cases, these are very young children; children who would have no possible way to process what is happening to them. All they know is that they have been forcibly and indefinitely separated from the most important thing in their lives-their parents. Ironically, when a civilian forcibly takes a child from their parents, our government calls that a crime. When our government does the same thing, it is called a policy.

We cannot conceive of this happening in a democracy and we call for ii to end now. We ask our brothers and sisters of our church and our brothers and sisters of other faith communities to join in demanding of our elected officials that they end a practice that we believe is antithetical to the spirit of Christ and Christianity. For it is Jesus Who reminds us that what we do “to the least of these, My brethren, you have done unto Me”.

Politicians from the statehouse to the White House and from both political parties have decried this situation. We call on them to move from decrying to deciding to protect those who cannot protect themselves-these children. For they are not only the children of immigrants-they are the children of God.